Shore Patrol: Plaza to be named for historic St. Isidore church

Folks in Seal Beach often ventured into Long Beach for church services, probably with a horse and buggy.

A congregation took root with the First United Methodist Church of Seal Beach in 1915. St. Anne's Catholic Church started services in 1921 at 317 10th St., then moved to a new location nearby at 340 10th St. in 1936, according to community historian Libby Appelgate.

Folks in neighboring Los Alamitos met for Catholic services at the local Felts Market or the Harmona Hotel.

Most of the parishioners - many who immigrated from Belgium or Mexico - worked at a sugar beet processing factory and lived in tents erected on wooden platforms, according to history buff Anita Schommer.

In 1921, the St. Isidore parish was established.

Though St. Isidore is no longer a functioning church, a plaza named for it at its location will be dedicated Sunday.

The parish has had a long and storied history before moving from church to historical site.

One year after the parish was founded, the parishioners asked the Bixby Land Co. for a piece of land to build a Catholic Church.

Two years later, in 1924, Bixby Land assigned the southwest corner of Church Street and Main Street - now Katella Avenue and Reagan Street, respectively - to the bishop of Monterey and Los Angeles for the filing fee of $10.

The property was used to build the first Catholic church in Los Alamitos, through the donations and labor of the parishioners, who worked the sugar beet crops, according to local historian Margaret Kendrick.

The first pastor assigned to St. Isidore was the Rev. Miguel Santacana when it was built and opened in 1926.

Much of the building was destroyed in 1933 in the Long Beach earthquake. The parishioners rebuilt St. Isidore to its present Spanish Revival architectural style that stands today.

The Orange Diocese closed St. Isidore in 1960 when St. Hedwig Catholic Church was opened on Los Alamitos Boulevard. In 1972, Monsignor Desmond Quinn reopened St. Isidore and had the hall built to serve as a family center, Schommer said.

In May 1999, the Orange Diocese once again closed St. Isidore, with the last Mass celebrated on Sept. 26.

With the closing of the church, a committee of dedicated parishioners and community members formed a nonprofit organization to purchase, preserve and protect the St. Isidore site, renaming it the St. Isidore Historical Plaza. The site is now a community center.

The Los Alamitos Museum Association on Nov. 29 designated the chapel building at St. Isidore Historical Plaza the oldest remaining community building in Los Alamitos. The dedication is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. at 10961 Reagan St.